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Customer Support · head to head

Klaus vs Scratchpad

Klaus logo

Klaus

Customer Support

AI-powered quality management for support teams

From
$50/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Scratchpad logo

Scratchpad

CRM

Faster workspace over Salesforce for sales reps to update pipeline, take notes and manage deals

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Scratchpad has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Klaus no longer available as standalone product after Zendesk acquisition; Scratchpad scratchpad works with Salesforce and nothing else, with no HubSpot support, so it is off the shortlist entirely for any company on a different CRM regardless of how good the interface is.
  • They diverge on capability: Klaus covers AI-powered QA, Scratchpad covers Spreadsheet pipeline views.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Klaus and Scratchpad actually diverge.

Attributes where Klaus and Scratchpad differ
AttributeKlausScratchpad
Starting price$50/monthFree
Pricing modelUnknownPer user per month
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebWeb, Chrome extension
CategoryCustomer SupportCRM
Founded2017Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Klaus

  • AI-powered QA
  • Conversation reviews
  • Scorecards
  • Coaching
  • Performance analytics
  • Calibration
  • Zendesk
  • Intercom

Only in Scratchpad

  • Spreadsheet pipeline views
  • Call recorder and notetaker
  • AI field updates
  • Deal and account agent
  • Hygiene monitor
  • Notes linked to records
  • Custom prompts
  • Kanban and forecast views

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Klaus

  • Quality assurancenot Scratchpad
  • Agent coachingnot Scratchpad
  • Performance trackingnot Scratchpad

Scratchpad

  • A 60-rep Salesforce team whose forecast is unreliable because opportunity fields are updated once a week in a panic before the pipeline callnot Klaus
  • A rep who wants to update twenty opportunities in a grid rather than opening twenty Salesforce recordsnot Klaus
  • A sales manager wanting stale and incomplete pipeline records flagged automatically instead of chased by emailnot Klaus
  • A revenue operations lead trialling AI notetaking that writes back to CRM fields before committing budget, using the free tiernot Klaus

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Klaus

  • No longer available as standalone product after Zendesk acquisition
  • Requires separate Zendesk subscription (not included in base plan)
  • Cannot be used with non-Zendesk help desk systems

Scratchpad

  • Scratchpad works with Salesforce and nothing else, with no HubSpot support, so it is off the shortlist entirely for any company on a different CRM regardless of how good the interface is.
  • AI credits are metered per user per month at 400 on Solo and 800 on Team, which means heavy notetaking use pushes teams towards Enterprise for capacity rather than for features.
  • There is no proper native mobile application, so representatives who wanted to update records from a car park between meetings are back in a mobile browser.
  • Sync with Salesforce and call processing can lag, and a pipeline view showing yesterday state during a forecast call undermines the exact meeting the tool was bought to improve.
  • It creates a second notes surface alongside native Salesforce notes, so organisations end up with deal history split across two places unless they explicitly ban one of them.

Pricing, plan by plan

Klaus

$50/month
  • Workforce Engagement Bundle$50/month
    • Includes Zendesk QA (formerly Klaus)
    • Requires base Zendesk Support or Suite plan
    • 100% conversation review with AI

Scratchpad

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Workspace limited to 3 views
    • 10 hours a month of call recording and notetaking
    • AI field updates
  • Solo$19/month
    • Unlimited views with sheets and notes
    • Call recorder and notetaker
    • AI field updates
  • Team$49/month
    • Everything in Solo
    • 800 AI credits per user per month
    • Gong integration
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Unlimited AI credits
    • White-glove agent services included
    • Enterprise security and administration

Which should you pick?

Choose Klaus if

  • You need ai-powered qa.
  • You also want conversation reviews.
Klaus review

Choose Scratchpad if

  • You need spreadsheet pipeline views.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Chrome extension.
  • You also want call recorder and notetaker.
Scratchpad review

Questions people ask

Is Klaus or Scratchpad better?
Neither clearly leads. Klaus starts at $50/month and Scratchpad at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Klaus or Scratchpad?
Scratchpad has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $50/month for Klaus and Free for Scratchpad.
Does Klaus or Scratchpad run on more platforms?
Klaus runs on Web. Scratchpad runs on Web, Chrome extension.
Can I use Scratchpad for free?
Yes. Scratchpad has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Klaus starts at $50/month.
What is Klaus best used for?
Klaus is most often used for quality assurance, agent coaching, performance tracking. Of those, quality assurance and agent coaching are not what Scratchpad is typically brought in for.
What can Klaus do that Scratchpad cannot?
Klaus covers AI-powered QA, Conversation reviews, Scorecards, Coaching. Scratchpad covers Spreadsheet pipeline views, Call recorder and notetaker, AI field updates, Deal and account agent.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Klaus: Is Klaus still available as a standalone product?

No. Klaus was acquired by Zendesk in February 2024 and is now integrated into Zendesk as Zendesk QA, requiring a paid Zendesk plan as the base.

Source
Scratchpad: Does Scratchpad work with HubSpot?

No. It is Salesforce-only.

Klaus: What QA features does Klaus provide?

Klaus automatically reviews 100% of customer interactions using AI, provides immediate performance insights, reduces QA time by 80%, and improves CSAT scores through targeted coaching.

Source
Scratchpad: Is the free plan usable in production?

Yes for an individual: full workspace with three views, 10 hours of recording and 100 AI credits a month. Teams outgrow it on views and credits.

Scratchpad: Does it replace Salesforce licences?

No. Every user still needs their own Salesforce licence; Scratchpad is an interface on top.

Scratchpad: What are AI credits spent on?

Notetaking, summarisation, field update suggestions and agent queries. Enterprise removes the cap.

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